Love In The Middle of War
by I Don't Want To Be Alone
Summary: [AU] Her hair hid her eyes as a tear rolled down her cheek. "I'm sorry," she choked out. "I'm sorry, but I have to..." His heart was about to break in two. "You don't have to do this! Put the knife down! Please we can still-" "No!" She gripped the knife in her hands and stabbed-
1. Kingdom of Dragone

**_~ Ch. I ~_**

 ** _~Kingdom of Dragone~_**

* * *

It was a quiet evening. Slight snoring and heavy breathing could be heard through the doors of the servant's quarters. Everyone in the castle has gone to bed at this hour, but the king's advisor refuses to sleep until his majesty returns to his chamber and the candlelight is out. He's sitting in the corner of the king's study with his majesty across from him, a table overflowing with papers between them. While he's polishing his pocket watch, the king is silently reading through documents that arrived at his study late.

The crackle of the fire and scribble of the ink-dipped quill filled most of the silence in the small room. The advisor looked up from his watch when the scribbling sounds stopped and watched the king reread the same letter for the third time. He saw him let a exasperated sigh escape his lips. The king scratched his head tiredly.

"Should we call it a night, Igneel?"

King Igneel raised his head slowly at his silver haired advisor, Metalicana. He shook his head no, muttered something along the lines of after I finish, and read the letter once again.

Metalicana sighed and rolled his eyes, letting his cold attitude show through. He continued to polish his pocket watch. In the brief moment of silence, Igneel finally said something.

"Your nephew is one troubling boy…."

"What did Natsu do now?" Metalicana asked, looking up from his watch.

"Nothing really, but it's what he wants that's troubling."

Metalicana raised an eyebrow. "Pardon?"

"See for yourself."

Igneel held out the document he kept rereading to Metalicana. Metalicana tucked his watch back into it's pocket and took the paper. Igneel watched Metalicana's eyes dart from one edge of the paper to the other. When he lowered the paper, his face was contorted into a confused stare.

Igneel chuckled. "See?" he asked playfully. In a more serious tone he pressed, "What do you think we should do?"

His advisor reread the paper and after a while he sighed. "Might as well do what he asks."

"Yeah, but how?" Igneel interrogated.

Metalicana remained silent. He slapped the document down on Igneel's desk and said, "It'd be best if you asked Grandine about this. I'm not good with these kinds of problems."

"Come on, you got to have some idea. I don't care if it's stupid. I rather take one stupid idea from you instead of a crazy one from her," Igneel pleaded.

"Have faith in my sister. She has some good ideas once in a while."

"Metalicana, you for one know that I love her to death, but be real. It's much less than once than a while."

"Well…"

Before Metalicana could finish, the door to the king's study swung open and there stood a lady. Her messy blue hair told the two men that she just got out of bed. Under his breath, Metalicana muttered speak of the devil and returned to his seat in the corner.

Igneel strained a smile and said in a gentle voice, "Gra-Grandine! My queen, why are you still awake?"

"I should be asking _you two_ that!" the queen boomed, addressing Metalicana as well.

"Grandine please lower your voice. People are still asleep," Metalicana shushed in a tired tone.

But the advisor's plead only angered the blue-haired queen further as she yelled even louder than before. "I know very well that people are sleeping now and that's what you two men should be doing now!"

"I will, we will!" Igneel quickly responded. "Just let me finish my work…"

"What can be so important that you refuse to sleep with your very own wife?" Grandine marched over to the desk and snatched the document off Igneel's desk.

"Wait, Grandine!" Igneel tried to snatch the paper back from Grandine, but fell onto his desk as Grandine turned away, quickly scanning over the sloppy handwriting printed on the paper.

Her dark expression turned to light when she realized who this letter was from. "Natsu wrote back!" she squealed.

Igneel nearly leapt over his desk to snatch the letter back from Grandine and to keep her from reading any more, but Grandine quickly caught on of his efforts and lead him on a chase around the study.

Metalicana amusingly watched his sister and brother-in-law fight over the letter. In the end Grandine managed to read to the end and stopped dead in her tracks when she read the very last word. Igneel was an inch from crashing into her back when Grandine suddenly stopped. He made no effort to take back the letter when he saw his wife quivering.

"Grandine? Sw-sweetheart?"

Igneel placed a hand on Grandine's shoulder and slowly turned her around. Her eyes were overflowing with tears when she screamed towards the heavens, "My little prince is finally growing up!"

The paper was thrown over her shoulder as she wrapped arms around Igneel and cried into his chest. The letter floated to the ground by Metalicana's feet. He picked up the paper and read it once more, just to make sure his eyes weren't fooling him.

* * *

 _Dear Father,_

 _I am writing to tell you that I'm doing well and that the war is going smoother than I expected. I estimate the war will be over by the end of the month and foundations for a new city in place of the fallen kingdom will be up and ready well before I return. How's Happy been doing? I hope you remembered to feed him. If I come home to find a starving cat, you'll get it! Also when I do return to the castle, I wish to begin my search in finding a "special someone". Please aid me in this decision._

 _That is all, Natsu_

* * *

The next night, Igneel was back in his study politely listening to Metalicana reporting what he had heard from the guards.

"…and according to the guards on the west wall, they claim to hear a voice whispering in their ears while they sleep saying things like…" Metalicana stopped speaking when the door slammed open. The blue haired queen came bursting into the study with a big smile stretched across her face. She was hugging a flyer in her arms. It was quite the change of scene compared to last night.

The queen cried out enthusiastically to her husband, "Igneel! Igneel!"

Igneel raised a hand to Metalicana telling him to stop for now. Metalicana narrowed his eyes at Igneel, but said nothing and stood silently next to his majesty. With his chin resting on the palm of his hand, Igneel replied, "Yes, Grandine?"

"I found a solution!" she proclaimed, waving the flyer in the air.

"A solution to what?" Igneel inquired, confused on what the actual problem was.

"A solution to the flying cat infestation in our pantry," Grandine said sarcastically. She placed a hand on her hip. "What do you think it's to?"

"That's why I'm asking."

Grandine sighed and presented her paper to Igneel. "I've found a solution to find our son's lover!"

A moment of silence came from Igneel, then, "Come again?"

Grandine smiled and shoved the paper into Igneel's face. Igneel's eyes bounced from Grandine to the flyer in her hands before sighing and reluctantly taking the paper. Metalicana leaned towards Igneel and read the flyer over his shoulder.

When he was done reading, Metalicana merely straightened his composure and looked out the window. Igneel, on the other hand, stared blankly at the paper. He made eye contact with Grandine and saw the smug smirk on her face. She was getting ready for the shower of praises she thought she was going to get. Igneel opened his mouth and what came out wasn't a praise.

"This is a joke, right?"

Grandine narrowed her eyes, feeling insulted. "How mean!" she yelled.

Igneel realizing that this crazy idea was real, retorted, "You're insane!"

"How is this insanity?!" Grandine snapped back. She plucked the flyer out of Igneel's hands and pointed at the bolded print. "It's the perfect solution to the problem at hand! And besides, I don't see you coming up with anything!"

"That's because I didn't think this was a problem in the first place! When he said for us to aide in his decision, I was thinking of suggesting a couple young maidens for him to pick from, not notifying the entire the kingdom and planning a extravagant ball to go with it!" Igneel yelled. He closed his eyes and sighed before pinching the bridge of his nose. "Well, I'm relieved you came to consult me before you did anything else…"

Grandine remained silent as she tried to busy herself by playing with the ribbon around her waist.

Igneel peeked at Grandine when he noticed her silence and sighed again. "You posted this around the kingdom already, didn't you?"

Grandine smiled sheepishly and shrugged. "I may have leaked a couple copies to the public…"

"And by a couple, you actually mean thousands, don't you?"

Grandine's eyes flickered to Metalicana who spoke and flashed him a guilty smile.

Igneel sighed once again. "I feel like I heard this story before…" he muttered to himself, vaguely thinking of the classic Cinderella story.

* * *

Outside the kingdom stood a cloaked woman, her gaze fixated on the night sky. A cool night wind blew across the landscape, causing grit and dirt to swirl around her feet and her hair to fly in the wind. Her cloak fluttered and swayed as a flyer came fluttering past.

Before the wind could pick it back up, a shoe came down on the paper, stopping it from flying by anymore. The cloaked woman turned around and saw a man bending over to pick up the paper.

She watched the man's hazel eyes skim over the flyer and gradually grow wider and wider. A smile danced on his lips and his eyes shined with mischief. He looked at the cloaked woman in front of him and said, "Do you want a chance to 'dance' with the prince?"


	2. It's Her

_**~ Ch. II ~**_

 _ **~It's Her~**_

* * *

 _(Warning: Bad Chapter - Read with an open mind. Thank you.)_

* * *

"Natsu, wake up!"

A sharp pain in Natsu's stomach sent him curled up into a ball, holding his stomach and groaning in pain. Through his onyx eyes, still blurred with sleep, he saw an all too familiar head of red standing over him. He groaned once again and whined, "Did you have to go as far as to kick me in the stomach?"

"Of course," said the red-headed woman. She flipped her scarlet hair over her shoulder and in a more serious tone she added, "I know the war's over, but you can't let your guard down like that. You're the next heir to Dragone, the notorious kingdom that has sent over 100 castles crumbling and broken apart nations. Do you know how many people are out there who would do anything to have your head?"

Natsu replied in a blunt tone, "Countless. But remember that I'm also named the War God. I'm sure with that title comes with some sort of danger radar or something."

A frown formed on the lips of the scarlet-haired woman. She wasn't amused by Natsu's joke and eyed him dubiously only to have her gaze falter when she noticed the intensity of his gaze.

Natsu's mouth opened. "Come on, Erza. Have some faith in me."

Erza swept some strands of her scarlet locks out of her face and sighed. "Hurry up and get ready. Once we pack, we're marching straight back home," she ordered abruptly.

"Aye, sir…"

Erza took one last glance at Natsu before ducking out of his tent. Natsu watched his general leave and groaned again. He touched the purple spot on his stomach and winced.

She didn't have to kick me that hard, Natsu thought to himself.

Using his hand to prop himself up, Natsu yawned and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. From where he was in the corner of the tent, he could hear busy-making noises going on outside. The clatter of kitchen utensils passed by his tent and the gritty noise of something heavy being dragged followed. Sunlight was shining through a crack in the flaps Erza exited through. Dark shadows darted past, carrying or dragging boxes across the thin ray of pure, golden light.

Roughly scratching his head, Natsu got up from the thin sheet of cloth laid out as his bed and walked to his chest where he put on a white button shirt and a black coat. He grabbed his belt that had his cherished white scarf tied next to the buckle and looped it around his waist.

He grabbed his bed cloth and stuffed it messily into the chest. Gripping the handle on the chest, Natsu ducked out of his tent and yawned. He squinted at the bright light and dragged the chest out of the tent, heading towards the middle of the camp. He suddenly stopped when he accidentally bumped into someone's back. Natsu recoiled and was about to apologize when he noticed who he bumped into. He bit back the apology and instead glared at the raven-headed soldier in front of him.

"What? You're not going to apologize?" the soldier sneered, dropping the box he was carrying with a thick thud.

Natsu did the same and let go of the handle on the chest. With the same intensity of the soldier Natsu retorted, "Not to your ugly face."

The other soldiers carried on with their business like normal, as if the tense atmosphere between the two was nothing out of the ordinary. With a fistful of the other's shirt and a fist reeled back ready to strike, a fist fight was about to break out when someone stepped in between the two.

"Oh, is that Erza?"

The boys stopped their fists midair and quickly released each other's collars. They frantically searched around them for the fiery red-headed general, but only found a small, blue-haired girl standing between them smiling a cheeky smile.

Natsu narrowed his eyes at her and hissed, "Wendy."

The girl ignored her brother and pointed towards the middle of the camp where a large wagon was being loaded full of boxes and chests. "Gray, it looks they're having trouble. You should go help," she addressed the raven-haired soldier.

Gray raised an eyebrow and glanced to where she was pointing. "It looks like they're fine…"

Just when he said that, a stack of boxes and chests collapsed into itself causing the soldiers around it to cry out. Gray stared dumbly at the panicking troops and sighed. He walked away from the siblings and went to go help.

Natsu stared at his sister accusingly and asked, "What was that all about?"

Crossing her arms, Wendy said in a displeased tone, "I'm tired of treating your wounds when Erza beats you up for fighting again. You should be thanking me."

Natsu looked away as if to think about it, then bluntly shook his head no. Before Wendy could argue back, Natsu quickly changed the subject. "Did you hear from Dad yet?"

Wendy remained silent until she realized he was talking about the letter they sent to the castle a little over four weeks ago. "Ah, yes! It just came today actually."

"What did it say?"

"I don't have it with me…" Wendy said sheepishly.

"Then where is it?" Wendy eyed the collapsed pile of crates and spotted a corner of her rustic blue chest buried underneath making Natsu sigh and say, "I guess it can wait until we get home." He ruffled Wendy's hair as if to say that it was okay and walked off.

Wendy watched her brother walk away before she let the mischievous look in her eyes show. She patted a neatly folded up letter in her pocket, the seal already broken. Giving into the urge, she took out the letter and read it once more.

* * *

 _Dear Natsu,_

 _We are glad to hear from you and to know that you are well. News of a new city brings us great happiness and we will hold a grand celebration. Your mother and I are elated to hear that you have finally reached the point in life where you wish to wed. If you don't mind, in addition to the celebration, your mother has also made it to double into a matchmaking ball to aid you in finding a fair maiden. The ball will be held the day after you return home._

 _Return safely, King Igneel_

* * *

The small smile growing on Wendy's face could not contain the joy she was feeling. Hugging the letter tight to her chest, the blue-haired princess skipped away as she sang about a love story unravelling before her.

* * *

Eyes narrowed and lips curved down to a deep frown, Natsu pushed away from the balcony he was leaning on and dismissed the chorus of protests from the group of girls trying to flirt with him. The prince leaned against the opposite wall and sighed heavily as Wendy approached him, asking the question floating above her head. A glare was thrown in Wendy's direction and she shivered.

"What's wrong?" Natsu repeated in a seething tone. He gestured roughly at the indistinctive hum of chatter and laughter flooding over the railing. "What's wrong is the day after my return home, I was suddenly tossed into this convention of women suddenly wanting to wed me! It's disgusting!"

"Is it too on the nose for you? Mom did kinda go all out on this…" Wendy glanced over the balcony, at her mother who was calmly sipping a cup of tea in the corner of the room. Spotting her daughter staring at her, she waved with an extended arm and a bright smile. Pursing her lips, she looked back at Natsu and suggested, "Well, you should at least make the most of it. Come on, go mingle with some girls. It's better than moping around here."

"I'm not moping, I'm sulking," he corrected. "There's a difference."

Wendy rolled her eyes, said yeah, and followed up with, "Is there anything that'll make you cooperate? Food? Some sort of show?"

The prince looked away and held his chin as if to think of something. An idea popped into his head and his eyes lit up. He smirked and looked down at his sister.

Once the words left his mouth, Wendy immediately objected. "Of course we can't do that! It'd be too dangerous!"

"That or I'm not coming down."

Unsure what to choose, Wendy pressed her lips together and stared at the empty space in front of her as she thought over each option. At times, her eyes would flicker to Natsu then shoot back to the floor, heavily pondering about her choices. Finally coming upon a decision, Wendy sighed loudly and said, "Fine, you win! But if anyone gets hurt, it's your fault!"

Natsu smiled victoriously at Wendy's departing figure and now smiled at himself as he leaned against the wall.

* * *

A flash of blue rushed past Igneel as he tried to exit his study. The hand that was about to scratch the back of his neck stopped midway and his eyes widened slightly. Confused about Wendy's urgent pace, Igneel tentatively called out to his daughter making her stop and double back on her steps. Without a word, she bowed in front of her father and continued down the hall.

Igneel followed curiously and eventually caught up with Wendy. "Sweetie? What's the rush? Did something go wrong at the ball?"

Wendy didn't respond, she was too busy mumbling to herself. "For goodness's sake, I'm already going through a month's worth of gauze… He could've at least gone a bit easier on the poor girl… Hopefully the medical supplies are unpacked."

Igneel's forehead creased. "What? Did someone get hurt? Wendy, sweetie, what happened?"

Wendy kept walking, oblivious to her father's presence and made a sudden left down the hall. "I should use my emergency stash just in case…"

Igneel gave up at the corner and decided to see the problem for himself, gripping the handle of his sword just in case he stepped into a bad situation.

Bursting through the ornate ballroom doors, King Igneel stared down at the crowd of people circling what seemed like a duel in the middle of the room. The clash of metal against metal bounced off the high walls, unnerving the king.

Guests and servants moved aside after noticing his presence, opening a pathway to the middle of the circle. Igneel strode past and was about to boom the question on his mind when he was interrupted.

Igneel cast a questioning stare at his wife covering his mouth. She gave him a mischievous wink and nodded towards the middle of the circle. The king, still confused, looked and found his son wielding a decorative sword that was supposed to be hanging on the wall. He would get mad if not for the longing look on Grandine's face suggesting he shouldn't interfere.

Believing in his wife's judgement, Igneel remained silent and let the battle play out.

* * *

The ring of iron striking iron rang loud in his ears as Natsu skillfully blocked each blow his opponent rained upon him. The girl he was fighting with was quick to recoil from each swing and refused to give him the chance to counter. The prince smiled amusingly and suddenly swung his sword upwards right as a blow connected, surprising the girl as her arm went behind her head. She was left wide open and Natsu leapt for the move that would win him the battle.

Seeing the pre-victorious look on the prince's face, the girl gritted her teeth and ignored the searing ache coming from her shoulder. Leaned back into a handstand, she kicked her feet over and did a full backflip. She smiled when she saw Natsu look at his empty hand, then at the sword spinning over their heads. It landed a few feet behind the girl and she smirked at the prince. Winding her sword back for her finishing blow, the girl saw victory within reach when a flash of pink slipped under the blade of her sword as she swung.

She whipped around to see the prince grab the grip of the sword right before he turned to face her.

"You fight pretty well for a princess."

The maiden's eyes widened slightly at the prince's compliment and she smirked. "Who said I was a princess?"

Natsu's eyes glittered as he lunged forward, swinging the sword down with all his might. The girl stepped aside just in time and the prince's sword slid down the length of her's, causing him to strike the tiled floors and ultimately creating a trap.

Seeing the prince having trouble raising his sword, the maiden leapt into action. Spinning on her heels, the woman swung her sword, intending to hit the back of his neck, but was instead surprised to be met by a sword inches away from her target, blocking her blow.

The prince looked over his shoulder and smiled at his own strength and swiftness. Whipping around to face the woman, the prince swung and trapped the maiden in a contest between strength. The swords between the two shook violently as each person pushed to come out on top.

"My apologies," the prince spoke between blades. "With that kind of face, anyone could easily mistaken you as a princess from a far away kingdom."

"Bringing out the pickup lines, huh? I do recall you insulting me before this battle even began," she retorted.

"That was before I witnessed your sword fighting skills. If it weren't for the sword, you'd look like any old maiden here."

"You compliment me claiming I have a face of a princess, now you're saying I'm average?"

"You know what I meant."

"No, please clarify for me."

The girl leapt back from the prince and lowered her sword. The two were about to lunge into another battle when someone yelled to stop them.

The attention was taken by the castle medic, looking annoyed and fed up as she carried her customized first aid kit to the wounded girl. Wendy took the girl's elbow and dragged away her from Natsu, shooting displeased glares at him as she walked.

The girl dropped her sword and followed obediently, leaving the prince alone in the middle of the ballroom.

Spotting the king approaching at the corner of his eye, Natsu quickly fled to follow the girls.

Igneel stopped midway and sighed. He turned around and gestured for the circle of people to continue with the party. Grandine walked up to him and smiled widely.

"Is there a reason why you didn't stop your idiot of a son?"

Grandine nudged Igneel's side at his comment and frowned, saying, "You saw it too." She glanced at the hallway Natsu disappeared into and her smile reappeared. "I haven't seen Natsu smile like that in years..."

The king followed Grandine's gaze and he couldn't deny it.


End file.
